Fidelity
by littlestrick
Summary: Sofia has been away from Enchancia for the past seven years. When she finally returns, it's doesn't resemble the home she once knew. Her parents are gone, her brother has been thrown in jail, and her sister has lost most of her sanity. How can she piece her life back together when, according to the public eye, she's no longer alive? Dark, adult themes. Chapter 12: M. The rest: T
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Do you have any last words?"

Sofia stood regally tall on the gallows, her chin lifted high to keep it from touching the rope around her neck. It was yet to be pulled uncomfortably tight, allowing her to speak. Sofia stared down from the gallows platform into unyielding amber-brown eyes. Her mouth stayed decidedly closed.

"Please don't make me do this, Sofia. Just bow to me. It will be nothing but a formality. Things can stay exactly as they are."

"I will not bow to a Queen who wears a crown studded with the jewels of every life she has ended."

Amber's hand unconsciously flew to the crown that delicately sat upon her golden waves of hair. When she realized what she had done, she whipped her hand back down to her side in a fist.

"You're a fool, Sofia. Your rebellion is nothing. Yes, yes I know of it. I've known about it all along. I ignored it, for you. Because I love you. You're all that's left of mother. I'm all that's left of father."

"Whose fault is that?!" Sofia snapped back, unable to maintain her calm collection.

"I did what I had to do! You weren't there. You were off, away, like you always were! I did what I had to do."

Sofia could see the flash of jealousy, of madness, behind her sister's expression. She tried to bite back her tongue, but her own anger made it impossible.

"Is that what you told James when you locked him away?"

"DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME TO ME!" Amber's voice, shrill and enraged, echoed around the chamber. Her thumb picked at the scabbed-over cuticles of her other hand, blood beginning to flow around her nail. She looked down, trying to come to a decision.

"I tried. I gave her chances," she murmured, her voice barely audible to Sofia. "But we did what we had to and she - I know, I know. You gave her one last chance and look what she said. She knows. She knows too much. You don't have another choice. She knows. And it has to end."

Amber's eyes darted up to the man who held the rope on the gallows stand.

"Do it."

Amber turned and walked from the room as the rope tightened around Sofia's neck. She drew her bound hands to her neck, trying to wiggle a space for her fingers between her skin and the rope as the floor dropped out from below her. She would have screamed if she had any access to her windpipe. It was pure luck that her neck hadn't snapped. And her will to survive was strong.

Sofia kicked her legs in the air, causing her body to swing back and forth in her fight to find something, anything for her feet to find purchase on. The gown Amber had trussed her up in for her murder was cumbersome and heavy, making it harder and harder to move. Sofia's body was begging her to take in a breath as stars started to erupt in her vision. Her hands were starting to feel weak. They dropped away from the small allowance of space they had made for her. The stars were starting to fade into blackness as her legs kicked with less and less energy.

Something snapped. Sofia was certain it was her neck finally giving in. She felt pleasantly weightless for a moment before colliding with something hard. Death. Surely it was her collision with death as life left her body and her soul tried to pass over to the other side.

Strong arms pulled her up from the doorway to the afterlife and Sofia felt an odd sense of loss. She was limp again, weightless with something hard pressing into her stomach.

"Fool," a familiar voice said. So familiar, but so far away. It was the last thing she heard before Sofia faded away, lost somewhere between unconsciousness and eternity.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: A big thanks to Jessibelle811 for sending along the prompt that started this story. You'll also find it posted on my Prompts and Drabbles story but it's become a thing of it's own. The story bug bit!  
I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think - reviews make me write faster ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sofia groaned. She brought her hand to her neck and found the noose and its rough texture missing. Her own light touch triggered too much pain. She pulled her hand back and whimpered. She couldn't be dead. There was too much pain for her to be dead.

"Don't try and sit up," came the voice she had heard from death's doorstep. "I have a salve for your throat that should help, but your neck is too sore to support your head right now."

Sofia opened her eyes with a slow blink. She couldn't be in the castle any longer. Above her was a thatch roof in, what she could only imagine, was a one-room little cottage. She was lying on the ground, or maybe a bed. But her head was supported on a pillow and, all things considered, she was relatively comfortable.

"The injuries from your fall are mostly superficial. It was a short distance. I'm sorry, but it couldn't be avoided. I carried your so-called corpse far enough for enough of the right people to see before I brought you here. It was fortuitous, really, that you fell unconscious."

"H-h-" she tried to ask, but her voice was a nothing but a painful scrape of air.

"How? I was disguised as your executioner so that I could be your savior, too. Now, I'm going to apply the salve. I'll be as gentle as I can be, but it's going to hurt."

The voice was right. The pain felt impossible as hands applied as little pressure as they could to rub a thick cream over her battered throat. Sofia shut her eyes tightly and couldn't hold back a louder whimper of pain. The pain rose higher and higher until Sofia could no longer hold onto her consciousness. For the second time that day, she blacked out.

When Sofia woke up again, it must have been night. Flickering firelight lighted the ceiling of the thatch roof. She brought her hand up to her throat. It was sore, but it was a pale shadow in comparison to the pain she last felt there. She felt eyes on her, then. She slowly, tenderly turned her head to the side. It was completely unsurprising and entirely shocking to her to find Cedric, paused from reading a book at a desk, looking at her.

Sofia felt frozen as emotions flooded through her. She fought to keep her composure as she stared at her hero of the day.

"Can I sit up," she said, her voice sounding like she had recently swallowed several mouthfuls of gravel.

"Yes," he said simply. He took a cup of water in hand and stood, taking a step closer to Sofia to hand it to her. "Here."

Sofia sat up and slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed she was on. She took the cup. "Thank you." She drank the water down gratefully and her throat immediately felt better, though swallowing was some small agony. When she spoke again, the quality of her voice was still scratchy, but more even. "Where are we?"

"Safehouse."

"...Oh." Sofia said, when Cedric didn't offer any other explanation.

Cedric held her eyes for an awkward moment, and then returned to his desk and his book. Sofia stared at him disbelievingly until she couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"You know I can't remember the last time we kissed?"

"Sofia -"

"Because you never think it's the last time until it is."

Cedric sighed, decidedly not looking up from his book. "We never should have in the first place."

"No, no you're right." Sofia looked away, her expression distant. "It would have all been much simpler if we didn't love each other. I would have been able to hate you less for getting me sent away."

Cedric pressed his hand across his forehead. "Sofia, it -"

"Wasn't like that," she said in unison with him. "Yes. So you wrote over and over again with no other explanation," she bit out.

"Sofia, _please_."

"I just find the information to be so incredibly conflicting. You told me you loved me and you held me and days later you were an integral part of having me traded away like wool or wood to a kingdom thousands of miles away!" Sofia's voice gradually grew in volume until the trauma to her throat forced her to cough. She barely missed a beat before continuing on. "You didn't come to my wedding to a stranger four days after that. You didn't even bother to tell me goodbye!"

Cedric was on her in a second, his hands gripping tightly to her shoulders.

"I had no choice, Sofia," he roared, practically shaking. "I was barely abreast of what was happening and I did everything, _everything_ in my power to give you the best option, the best life. I couldn't watch it happen! I couldn't watch you leave me to fall into the arms of another. I wanted to give you your best chance! I…" his fury died away as quickly as it had come. He released his grip on her shoulders and smoothed his hands across the indents his fingers had made in her skin. He took a step backwards from her before turning and nearly collapsing back into the chair at the desk, not looking at her. "I was a coward. But I couldn't watch you go."

Sofia ran her hands over her arms, hungry for the warmth Cedric's hands had left behind. She tried to fight back the tears his revelation left her with. She was mildly successful, only one or two tracking down her cheeks. She hadn't cried after getting captured and getting beaten in places that gowns would conceal, nor had she cried when facing her death from the lips of her own deranged sister.

But the truth from Cedric after seven years nearly brought her collapsing down to the floor with weak knees that had nothing to do with her near-death experience. Seven years of hating how he abandoned her, of thinking he had lied - that he had never really loved her. Seven years trapped in a marriage where she tried to find love but never could. Seven years of trying to find her way out to finally come back to a home she didn't recognize.

"It was a week before All Hallows Eve," Cedric offered, softly breaking the silence between them. "We had spent the afternoon together publically, picking from the garden to restock some of my stores." A wistful smile crossed his face. "It was difficult to resist you while we put things away. Your smile...well, the clock chimed and you were running late to dinner. I pulled you back before you could get to the door."

Sofia felt his eyes lift and lock with hers.

"It was a quick thing. Comfortable. Nearly forgettable. It spoke to the kind of kiss we would exchange every morning, with every hello and every goodbye..."

It felt like someone had taken their hand and wrapped it around Sofia's heart, squeezing it impossibly tight. The pain of the heartache was almost a welcome thing; something she could focus on during this storm of emotions.

"Cedric," she barely choked out, pleading. He was out of his chair before she could form the word 'please.' She closed her eyes and felt his hands weave into her hair behind her ears, supporting her head effortlessly as he tilted her head ever so slightly to press his lips against hers in a kiss that was anything but forgettable.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Sofia," Cedric murmured between soft kisses across her cheeks, her eyelids. It made her want to melt. "Sofia, we have to discuss what's going on."

"It's been seven years, Cedric," Sofia said, a little breathless. "Do you really want to _talk_?"

His thumbs gently stroked her cheeks. "No. No, I don't. But I haven't gotten to do what I want to do in a very, very long time."

Sofia tugged him back to her and kissed him deeply, opening herself to him. Begging him to kiss her, to touch her, to hold her again.

"Sofia…" Cedric's hands slid away from her hair. One hand fell to her shoulder and the other tilted her chin to look up to his eyes instead of hungrily at his lips. "What about your husband?"

His question filled the room with sudden tension. Sofia took in three slow, deep breaths as she absently spun the diamond encrusted band around her ring finger.

"He...doesn't matter."

Cedric watched her for a long moment before sitting down beside her on the bed. He took her left hand into his lap, quieting her nervous movement.

"I'm right here beside you, Sofia. And I…" he took in a sharp breath and squeezed her hand, steadying himself. "Damn it all, I'm never going to lose you again. Damn the consequences straight to hell."

Sofia leaned her head on Cedric's shoulder. Her neck was so tired. She closed her eyes and pressed her body against his. His words had brought her relief and joy and worry.

"My husband," she began before pausing to cough again, continuing in a softer voice. "After being unable to produce an heir, my position was...reallocated. I was only allowed to leave the kingdom after an heir was secured with another auburn-haired woman. I'm officially on a diplomatic journey back home to hide my lack of pregnancy and I'm due to arrive back just in time to go into labor and present the kingdom with an infant child that isn't mine."

Sofia's stomach twisted with the reminder of her experiences and she grimaced. Cedric brought his free arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"I really did try...to be happy, to conceive a child, to love him. I failed. I completely, utterly failed..."

"It doesn't matter. You aren't going back. Merlin, as far as most of Enchancia is concerned right now, Amber had you hanged and killed. Leaving will be a simple matter."

Sofia put a hand against Cedric's chest and pressed back from him to look up into his face. "I can't - Cedric, I can't run from here, from this. James is under lock and key. Amber is certifiably insane and thus holding my home under a bizarre and tyrannical reign. And once word finally gets back to my husband that my sister tried to kill me, I wouldn't be surprised he declared war to save face and smashed Enchancia into thousands of tiny pieces. Which would make the entire purpose of my forced marriage null and void, making the past seven years of agony a waste."

Sofia reached up and touched Cedric's face, memorizing the warmth of his skin against her fingertips. Her expression was one of firm resolve. "I won't try and stop you, if you want to go. But I couldn't live with myself if I left things behind as they are."

Cedric sighed, the air pushing out through his nostrils. "I don't see why I'm surprised. When have you ever been the sort to make a selfish choice?." He smiled at her fondly before his gaze fell across her neck and he furrowed his eyebrows. "You should lie back down. The bruising still hasn't faded - you must still be sore - don't nod, you'll hurt yourself."

Sofia twisted in place to position her back towards the headboard of the bed and Cedric swung her legs up and across his lap. He leaned forward to lace his fingers behind her neck and helped her lower her body back down to the bed, her head lightly landing on the pillow. He moved his hands out to brush stray hairs from her face. He brought his face closer to hers and hovered above her for a moment before brushing his lips softly across hers. It was a kiss so tender and loving that it pieced together bits of Sofia that she hadn't realized were broken. She couldn't breathe. She could barely think. Her mind was delightfully empty while her soul blazed. When he finally pulled away, she almost cried in protest.

"Don't speak," he bid as rolled back up to a sitting position, his hand resting lightly on her shins. "Rest your voice. I'll tell you what I know.

"Your parents dying of an unclear cause awoke a paranoia in your sister and a sense of purpose in your brother. James had never been more dedicated to the kingdom. But Amber began to see him as a threat. She claimed he was too dedicated. Too interested in the kingdom. When they came of age, Amber presented a meager amount of barely strung together, mildly damning evidence that James was responsible for their deaths. That, combined with her position as the older of the two won her the crown and James a jail cell."

"How do you play into all of this?" Sofia asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Cedric's expression contorted into a frown.

"I never lost my position as Royal Sorcerer. I used it, in fact, to become a bit of a Royal Advisor as well. It's been a difficult position to play. There are some dark, shameful things she's done that I've not discouraged to keep her ear when something truly menacing eeks out of her mind. Finding the balance has been...well, miserable."

"How so?"

Cedric turned his head to face the other side of the room. "I knew Amber sent the guards to beat you before she addressed you in person. She believed that it would ensure that you saw her in the best light, like a rescuer. I...advised her to hang you. B-but I knew I could save you and falsifying your death would be the easiest way. And it's given me a vast amount of sway with Amber. I think I might be able to move James, now, and take further steps to unseating Amber and giving this country a chance."

Cedric didn't speak for a long time, continuing to look away. Sofia shifted her legs to tap him lightly on his stomach with her knees.

"...dark and shameful things," he echoed his own words, distantly.

"Cedric -"

"It's almost dawn," Cedric stood, lifting Sofia's legs and replacing them on the bed. "I should go. I'll be expected."

"Cedric!" Sofia sat up in bed and immediately regretted it, taking turns between whimpering and groaning in pain when she wasn't trapped in a fit of coughs. Cedric was beside her instantly, helping her back down with the cup from earlier in his hand. He held it to her lips and Sofia gulped down the liquid without question.

"I told you," he chided gently once she stopped cough. He wiped away an escaped drop of water off her lower lip, "you should be lying down."

"I can't do that," she said, her voice more hoarse than it had been, "when you're blaming yourself for the insanity wrapped around my…my…sister…I, Cedric…I don't feel…"

"I'm afraid I can't trust you to stay put, Sofia." The look on his face was muddled somewhere between determination and guilt. The light around him was fading fast from Sofia's sight. "I'm with you, I am. But you need to stay dead to the world, for now."

"What...did…" her words were slow and slurred.

"Rest. I'll be back before you wake again."

Sofia felt Cedric kiss her hand as her eyelids, heavy with forced exhaustion, fell closed and a dreamless sleep roughly carried her away.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: Guys. GUYS this thing keeps getting richer and better and I love it.**

 **I'm projecting this to be around 10ish chapters? Who the hell knows. I'm having fun and that's what counts. Yaaaayyyy! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Cedric was already in the Great Hall nursing a cup of tea when Amber walked in, the clicking of her heels echoing with crisp steps.

"All black today, Your Majesty?"

Amber waited for a servant to rush up and pull out her chair before she sat down at the head of the table. She gave Cedric an inquisitive glance.

"My sister was killed yesterday, Cedric. I'm in mourning."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Your Majesty." He avoided looking Amber in the eye, staring at her eyebrows, instead. Looking directly into her eyes tended to make him feel like he was inviting a feral cat inside to shred his soul to pieces. He broke away, picking up his cup of tea and savoring the flavor for precious, short moments.

"Comfort me!" the Queen shouted, slamming her palm down against the table before hugging her arms around herself and starting to weep, tears immediately wetting her cheeks. Cedric didn't flinch at her outburst. He put down his teacup and pushed back calmly from the table. He moved to stand beside Amber and put a hand on her shoulder. Amber threw herself out of her chair and into Cedric. He held her woodenly as she snaked her arms up around his neck and let him support her as she wept into his shoulder.

"I thought she would be different. She had been away so she didn't see and if she didn't see she didn't know. I had kept it all away but she was _just like them_ just like they said she would be. She sounded just like _him_. She made them kill her and I couldn't watch."

Amber nuzzled her head against his neck, laying desperate kisses against his skin. Cedric took a step backward and Amber immediately pursued him, fighting to find her way into his arms again.

"Please, _please_ Cedric. Please hold me. You're the only one. You're the only one who knows who knew who knows me who hurts. Please, _please_ , please, please, Cedric." she begged nonsensically, barely catching her breath between sobs. Cedric grabbed Amber's forearms and kept a firm distance between them.

"Amber." His voice was patient but warning. Amber stiffened immediately. She reared back and tried to beat her hands against Cedric's chest. His grip held strong. Her arms didn't move an inch towards him.

"I will _tell_ ," she growled at him, her demeanor sliding from desperation to manipulation with the ease of familiarity. She stepped as close to him as his grip on her arms allowed. "I will tell her what you did. Cedric and then she'll never come back home. She will hate you and leave you and never love you again."

"You always seem to forget the bit _you_ had to play in all this, Amber." Cedric said with a light laugh before his face mellowed with security. "Sofia's gone. You'll never be able to tell her anything again. You have no hold on me any longer."

Cedric dropped her arms and gave her one last lingering glare. He turned his back on her, walking silently to the doors. He made it several paces forward before Amber released a shrill scream of rage and Cedric heard the sound of a dagger ripping from its sheath. She came running recklessly at him. Cedric turned and drew his wand in a fluid motion. With a murmur and a slice through the air, Amber was suddenly frozen in place. The wild rage in her eye was a terrible thing to behold, unmoving the way it was. Cedric turned to the two servants cowering in a corner.

"LEAVE," he bellowed. Desperate for an order they wanted to follow, the servants fled.

Once the doors were shut again, Cedric approached Amber and brought his hand to her neck. He looped a finger under the chain that rested there and drew it towards him until a key revealed itself from where she had nestled it in her bosom. He tugged the chain sharply and it snapped against her spine. Cedric took the key and pocketed it, dropping the chain carelessly to the ground. He peeled back Amber's fingers from the hilt of the dagger until it was free and took it in hand. He knelt to the floor and waved his wand over the dagger until it stood up on its own. He straightened and circled the dagger, eyeing its position compared to where Amber was frozen in place. Satisfied with the arrangement, he came back to stand in front of Amber, bending his knees slightly so he could stare into her savage eyes.

"I want you to know that I tried. I really, truly, tried to heal your malady. But something is broken in you that magic can't touch. I have watched your insanity grow and made excuses for your actions for too long. It's going to be over as soon as my spell wears off. It should give you time to make peace with...with whatever it is in your mind that has you held so tightly."

Cedric stepped to the door. His hand on the handle, he paused and spoke loud enough for Amber to hear him.

"I wish it wasn't like this. I...I wish I wasn't so gutless, that I could end this for you more...directly. I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty. May your suffering be less than what you've inflicted on others."

And then he was gone, leaving Amber to her bloody fate.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: This is the first chance I've had to sit down and write for two days. I had to finish sewing my daughter's Halloween costume during my free time which meant no writing time (booooo).**

 **Also, everyone seems surprisingly cool with the fact that Cedric basically drugged Sofia at the end of last chapter. Hopefully you're not missing the less-than-good behavior going on in this chapter. It's gonna get worse before it gets better, if it gets better at all…;)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Guards dismissed, Cedric practically flew through the empty dungeon hall. His hand was shoved into his pocket, clinging to the recovered key. He had helped to move James earlier in the week. Amber had insisted that he couldn't stay in the same cell for more than two weeks at a time. Whether it was drawn from her own mind or from the depths of her insanity, Cedric couldn't help but credit her for the security of the idea. Guards held watch on the front of the hall. Food was magicked to appear in his cell three times a day. And Cedric and Amber were the only ones who knew exactly what cell James was in .

Around the corner and three doors on the left, Cedric stopped and banged twice on the door.

"James," Cedric hissed urgently. He pulled the key from his pocket and slipped it into the door. "James, it's time."

Cedric pulled out the key and swung the door inward. James looked much the same as he had earlier that week. His clothes, though worn, were pristine. His hair, as golden-blond as his sister's, had grown out past his shoulders and was tied back in a neat tail. Amber had insisted that, though imprisoned, he maintain his princely appearances. Seeing him mistreated, beyond his imprisonment, sent Amber into a rage that left guards and servants as victims of blind violence and so James indulged her requirements. She could do nothing, however, to fight the dark circles under his eyes or the deep lines of worry across his forehead that aged him beyond his twenty-seven years.

James looked up from a book and weighed Cedric in his gaze.

"You're alone."

"Yes. We need to hurry to complete the coup."

"What happened to Amber?" James slowly rose to his feet, leaving his book on the ground.

"I took care of it."

James narrowed his eyes at the sorcerer and stared at him for a long minute that they did not have to spare.

"That wasn't the option we discussed. There will have to be consequences."

"I've lived with the consequences of _inaction_ for seven years. So have you. We have to _go_ , James."

"Consequences for you, Cedric. For what it is that you've done to my sister."

Cedric lifted his chin slightly. "I did what I had to do to free Enchancia from an insane, violent, tyrannical woman." James took a step towards Cedric and in one motion, Cedric withdrew his wand and stepped backward. "And I will do what I have to do to free myself from this accursed kingdom. Now get out of this cell and go and take the damn crown."

James held his hands up to Cedric in a sign of submission. Cedric lowered his wand and moved out of the doorway to allow James to step out into the hall with him. They hadn't taken three paces away from the cell before James asked,

"What of Sofia?"

"Amber had her hanged," Cedric replied curtly, keeping his eyes forward. James stopped. Cedric turned and found him with his hand clutched to his heart, his face the picture of agony.

"Oh, Sofia…" he whispered. "Gods, does Amber's cruelty know no bounds? When we last spoke, you only told me Sofia had been beaten. How did it come to this?"

"Sofia is stronger than you and stronger than me and wouldn't bow to Amber's insanity. She is, however, stupider than both of us because she ended up on the end of a rope because of it." Cedric grabbed James by the arm, pulling him along in stumbling steps of grief.

"How are you even standing? She - you-you you _loved_ her."

"Because I know damn well she'd want me to survive to the end of this!" Cedric shouted, his patience spent. "Now, hurry!"

Cedric led them into the interior corridors of the castle that Sofia had shown him in another life. The fewer interactions with people, the better. Both men were silent until they emerged from the passages, appearing not twenty paces away from the throne room.

"Tell me again how it works," James said with an uneasy command in his voice.

"It's an ancient spell. Each ruler of Enchancia is sealed to the position with a different spell but to break it without natural cause will require _more_. It will take time. It will take will. It will be painful. You must be certain and your intentions must be good. The coup spell requires a caster with the blood of the person who cast the original spell and a caster with the righteous blood of the true ruling line."

They were at the door. Cedric eased it open and hurried James inside. When the door shut behind them, Cedric waved his wand in the air and all the doors and windows were firmly shut and locked. The light in the room dimmed significantly with this action, shrouding the figure at the back of the room. James eyed the figure, unease flashing across his face.

"Everyone who could fill the role of the second caster is dead."

"Not quite," Cedric replied as he strode forward to the back of the room where Amber's throne sat alone in the center of the pedestal. When they were close enough, the figure turned and displayed a warm, relieved smile.

"James. Oh it's good to see you, my boy."

James fumbled for words as he stared at his Aunt Tilly.

"Y-you can't be. She - you were one of the first people she killed."

Tilly's smile changed to something a bit more smug. "I'm afraid it takes a bit more than a dagger to get rid of me." She pulled down the collar of her shirt with a finger to reveal a puckered, white scar. "Though it certainly did leave its mark."

James stepped forward and scooped his aunt into his arms in a fierce embrace. Her toes dangled, barely touching the floor as he held her up. She stroked the back of his neck lovingly as she made soft, comforting sounds.

"You're all I have left," James croaked out. "The only family I have left and I swear I will protect you. I swear it."

Cedric cleared his throat. James set Tilly down and surreptitiously wiped his eyes. Tilly made eye contact with Cedric, her gaze heavy and serious.

"It's done, then?"

"She won't be hurting anyone again."

Tilly nodded once in response. She reached into a bag that was sitting on the throne pedestal and pulled out the worse-for-wear but intact crown of King Roland the Second.

"Sit on the throne, James, and place this on your head. We should begin."

James did as ordered and Tilly stood on his right side. She took James' right hand in her own and placed her other hand atop the crown. Cedric, meanwhile, stared out the window at the mid-morning sun. He wouldn't be able to make it back to Sofia before she awoke from the effects of the sleeping draft. They simply hadn't moved quickly enough. He was weighing the likelihood of her staying in the safe house, as she should, when Tilly interrupted his train of thought.

"Cedric?"

Cedric bowed his head, sending out a silent, desperate plea that Sofia would stay where she was. He fixed his face with a look of determination and turned, taking a mirrored position to Tilly on James' left side.

"Let's begin."

.

* * *

.

 **A/N:  
Raise your hand if you believe James is genuinely worthy of the crown.  
** **Should it be Tilly, instead?  
** **WHAT HAPPENED TO ROLAND AND MIRANDA?! (I'm actually not 100% sure I'm going to address it. We shall see…)  
** **Is Amber dead?  
** **How many lies has Cedric told?  
** **What's Sofia gonna do when she wakes up alone?  
** **All of this and more in the next installment!**

 **Also, HUGE shout out to cedfiafics. With the exception of a couple of you, I feel like I'm writing this story just for her. And I don't mind that at all. You know why? Because she's awesome. Not only is she taking the time to review every chapter of my work, but she's also actively writing her own story (Cry for the Moon - it's a real heart-wrencher) and went down a fearlessly dark path in her own story "Offer Your Throat to the Wolf." If you like the direction of this story, please go give "...Wolf" a read. I think you'll enjoy it. And be awesome, like cedfiafics, and review every chapter. You have no idea what an incredibly positive motivator it is to get reviews on your work. Share the love, people. Share the love.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Sofia woke up as if she had only just closed her eyes. It was startling. Her surroundings unfamiliar, it took a few moments for her to remember everything that had happened. She drew her hand up to her neck and gave it a tentative touch. It felt new. She put her hands on her neck to support it as she rolled up to a sitting position, but found that the support was unnecessary. She was healed. Cedric's salve and resting had done the trick.

"Yes, Sofia, the _resting_ ," she grumbled aloud to the empty room, her voice back to normal. "Ignore the fact that the love of your life gave you a drugged drink without your consent. It's _totally_ fine."

She got of bed and meandered around the cottage. It was small and square and windowless. There was a fireplace on one wall and a door opposite it. The fireplace must have been magical as there was no chimney. And then there was the bed and the desk and chair and nothing else save for a peg by the door that held a cloak long enough to belong to Cedric. He must have taken the book he was reading with him when he left.

Sofia took stock of herself as she moved around the space. Her body felt stiff. The waning light filtering through the cracks around the door told her she had been asleep until well into the afternoon. Her gown, the light lavender silk of her childhood, was the same one Amber had her dressed in a day ago. It was wrinkled but otherwise clean. The color, so safely familiar, made her bring her hand to her chest, idly searching for the Amulet she had retired when she left Enchancia.

That thought stopped her. It worried her. Amber had coveted the Amulet of Avalor. When Sofia finally removed it, could Amber have taken it for herself? Stars above, how had it taken her until _now_ to think of it? Maybe Amber was just cursed. Could it be so simple?

Sofia rushed to the door and turned the handle. It opened without protest. But she paused. Cedric had been right. There could be a significant advantage to her being thought dead, at least for now. But she needed to check on the Amulet. She might be able to save Amber from herself.

Sofia looked over at the cloak and grabbed it, clasping it around her neck and pulling the hood as far up over her head as it would go. She loosened her hair to help hide her face and pulled the cloak tightly around her. The bulk of her skirts, however, was too much for the cloak to hide. Sofia reached up under her skirt and divested herself of several heavy layers of crinoline. She pulled the cloak around her again and was satisfied with her concealment as well the lightness she now felt around her legs. Ready, she stepped outside.

Sofia was surprised to find herself inside the castle grounds. The safe house was, in actuality, a magically expanded garden tool shed sitting in a part of the gardens that looked neglected and abandoned. It was the first time since she had arrived back home that she noticed any physical disarray in the entirety of the kingdom. The surrounding villages had been clean and tidy and seemingly well cared for. Now that she thought on it, however, there had been a lack of people going about their business in the streets. She hadn't seen anyone laughing. She hadn't seen any children playing. Were they scared? Had Amber hurt them or threatened them? Was there actually a rebellion going on or had that just been more of Amber's insane rambling?

Something had to be done. Looking up at the castle, barely a quarter mile from where she stood, Sofia was reminded again of her purpose. She had to get to the jewel room and she had to do it without being seen. She started walking and was unnerved by the lack of people on the grounds. No soldiers, no gardeners, no meandering foreign dignitaries taking a late afternoon walk before dinner. It was as if the castle was terrifying enough by reputation that it lacked a need for guards. Sofia felt a panic rising in her stomach as her mind started to play with the possibilities. How many people must have been killed, beaten, or maimed for that kind of reputation to be established? What of the work of her father and her grandfather and so on back - had it been ruined? Marred forever? How could she possibly find a way to bring the glory or even just the positive standard back to her home when she was unwillingly tied to a loveless marriage in a distant kingdom? How could she manage alone?

"You're not alone," she whispered just loud enough for her own ears. "You can save Amber. You can free James. And Cedric...you and he will find a way to escape back home, back here, without inciting war. It's going to be okay."

Glancing left and right before she left the safety of a hedgegrove, Sofia hurried across a well worn path around the outside of the castle. She pressed her hand against the stone and then ripped it back towards her. The entire structure seemed to be resonating with magical power. It was then, her hand practically buzzing, that she turned her head and saw the first body on the ground.

It was a soldier. He looked like he had collapsed without warning, his limbs lying at odd but unbroken angles. Sofia found herself immediately at his side, her hand hurrying to his neck. She was relieved to find a slow and steady pulse that she associated with a deep sleep. She moved to stand but paused when she saw the soldier's belt knife. Sofia allowed herself a brief moment of hesitation before she took it from the soldier and buckled it around her own waist.

Walking quickly but cautiously, Sofia made her way around the castle until she found the outside entrance closest to the jewel room. She passed a dozen more soldiers on the way, each identically passed out on the ground. It did nothing but fuel her worry. She didn't know much about magic. She hadn't had the opportunity she desired to study it extensively. After losing Cedric, losing her life as she knew it, the study of magic had felt too painful. Sofia did know enough, however, to realize that something big was happening inside the castle and effecting the people around it, except for her. So far.

Her hand hovered at the door. The magic had grown even in just the past few minutes. Reaching for the door felt like she was sticking her hand into a jar filled with bees.

 _Amber. James. Cedric._

The names echoed in her head like a mantra, lending her strength. Sofia pulled the door open and stepped inside.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N:**

 **Well, I promised you A LOT of answers and only sort of gave you one, I think. We're leaning towards conclusion land and more answers will come, then, Have patience. I promise to make it interesting and worth it.**

 **Two nights of rehearsal in a row plus Halloween and my writing time was seriously shortened. Let's all give a hip-hip-hooray for my daughter and her commitment to you, readers, by the extended naps she's been taking.**

 **I noticed a genuine tick up in reviews after last chapter. THANK YOU. I love knowing that you're out there and hearing what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Every guard, every servant was collapsed on the floor. It made sneaking through the castle unnerving but simple, though Sofia did make an effort to keep her shoes quiet on the polished floors. She only found organic movement when she approached her destination. As she stepped over the fallen guards at the door, Sofia was frozen in place by a roar and a flutter of golden wings. She slowly drew her hands up into the air while staring into startlingly intelligent eyes.

"Jasper, it's me, Sofia," she said timidly. Jasper's eyes narrowed as he considered her. He sniffed once in her direction and nodded his head, satisfied. He sat back on his haunches and looked at Sofia expectantly. "Is the Amulet of Avalor still here?"

Jasper looked profoundly sad as he shook his head.

Frustration washed over Sofia in the work of a second. Amber was cursed. The entire kingdom was cursed because Amber could never accept what wasn't hers. What a selfish fool.

"Thank you, Jasper." She ran her hand affectionately down the griffin's beak. "I'm going to try and fix this mess. I have to go."

Jasper cried out after her in a tone that Sofia imagined was somewhere near encouragement as she hurried along her way.

This was the first time Sofia had been in the castle since she had been bartered away. Everything appeared more or less the same, but she didn't even have an inkling as to where to begin to find Amber. Would she have kept her old rooms or would she have moved into the suite reserved for the King and Queen? But with the time of day, would she be taking supper now and would she do that in the Great Hall or in her rooms, whichever they may be?

The Great Hall was closer and so Sofia hurried off in that direction. She couldn't put together a coherent plan. Her saving grace was probably going to be the fact that all of the soldiers were indisposed and Sofia had always been a little stronger, a little sturdier than Amber. If it came to a physical altercation between the two of them, Sofia was confident that she would emerge the victor. But she was going to talk to Amber first, to try and reason with her. She was going to find out when Amber had taken the Amulet and what specific curse it had laid on her. She was going to find resolve and fix the disaster Amber had left in her unhinged wake.

Finding the Great Hall devoid but for one collapsed body on the ground was immediately troubling, particularly because that body wasn't dressed in castle livery but in a delicate, black, lace gown. Sofia approached slowly, anticipating seeing Amber on the ground passed out just like everyone else had been.

"You've come."

Sofia nearly lept into the air, startled to hear Amber's voice.

"You've finally….finally come." Amber's voice was small and wet. Sofia hurried closer and gasped aloud. Amber was lying on her stomach in a pool of dark blood. Her head was tilted to the side and her eyes fluttered open to look up at Sofia.

Sofia was on her knees in an instant, careless of the blood that started to soak into the silks of her gown. She grabbed Amber by her shoulders and gently turned her, revealing a dagger buried under her left breast. Amber took in a sharp, short, rattling breath and Sofia stopped moving her, letting Amber's head rest in her lap. Blood eked out around the dagger. So much blood. Sofia had never seen so much blood.

Amber stared deep into the hood of the cloak and found something she recognized. She smiled in relief. "Sofia…you've come...to fetch me?"

"A-Amber, hush. Shhhh. It's going to be okay." Sofia's hands danced around above Amber. She didn't know what to do - where to put pressure or not to. The blood on the ground that was soaking into her gown was cold. Amber had been here a long time. How long until it had been too long? "Just-just stop talking, you bleed more every time you speak."

Amber's hand darted out to Sofia's face with sudden strength and speed. She cupped Sofia's face with that one hand, blood smearing across Sofia's cheek. "But I have to tell you before we go," she wheezed. "You have to know so I can be with mother and father."

There was an intensity in Amber's eyes, now. Where seconds before weakness embraced her, now Amber was awake with the energy of clarity.

"We cast a spell before you left. It was my idea but he-he agreed. No matter the cost. I know it hurt you, it took from you but you have to - you _have_ to forgive me." Tears rolled down her cheek with her efforts, her begging. "Please, please say you do."

Tears welling up in her own eyes, Sofia nodded fervently before cooing, "I do, I do." She brushed hair sticky with sweat away from Amber's forehead.

"He didn't know I was wearing the Amulet when it happened. He didn't know what it took from me. But I could never be far from it. I missed you so."

"What happened to the Amulet, Amber?" Sofia couldn't hide the urgency from her voice.

"My pocket," Amber replied, shame flashing over her face. "I did it to keep you safe...because I loved you. Please believe me."

Another sharp breath came to Amber and her face was awash in pain. Her hand slowly dropped down from Sofia's face. Sofia's hands were restless again. She started to shift to lay Amber back on the ground.

"I'm going to go and find some help." Sofia's voice was rising as she started to fall victim to her hysteria. "You just - you just have to stay here and stay still and -"

"You can't go without me, Sofia…" Amber's eyes closed and her lips painted into a soft, relaxed smile. "It's why you came. You have to...show me the way…."

The Queen let go of a shuddering, rasping sigh and faded away. Sofia, holding tightly to Amber's lifeless hand, didn't bother to wipe away the tears that fell down her cheeks in a steady stream. She stayed there until the sun went down. The hall was dark. There were no servants conscious to light the candles or the fires.

Sofia was sitting there, bloody and silent, when she heard the door open and light from a small source flooded into the room. Sofia blinked, the contrast of the light to the darkness she had been sitting in nearly blinding her.

"You aren't supposed to be here," she heard, followed by a gasp and running footsteps. A form hurled itself to sit beside her. Masculine hands cupped her face and she heard Cedric ask, his lighted wand held between his teeth. "Are you hurt? Merlin, you're covered in blood. Sofia, what happened?"

Sofia looked up at him, her soul aching. "You tell me."

.

* * *

.

 **A/N:  
** **Guys, my kid woke up with the sniffles this morning (and I'm not exactly sunny-side-up myself). I have seen the Smurfs movie at least three times, just today. I'm slowly going insane. Sorry if that reads, here.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Sofia was shaking when Cedric got her to her feet. She had been sitting on her knees long enough that her legs were numb, making it difficult to stand. She leaned into Cedric as he surrounded them in a column of acid-green smoke before they disappeared from the Great Hall and reappeared in Cedric's tower. Wrapped in shock, she let herself be handled by him. He sat her down on a stool and peeled the cloak off of her shoulders. A basin of warm water and a soft cloth appeared from nowhere. On his knees before her, Cedric used it to gently wash the blood away from her face and her hands.

Face clean and glistening with small beads of water, Sofia looked down at Cedric who avoided her eyes.

"Talk."

The word was a simple enough command. Cedric's eyes flashed up to hers and he immediately looked away, busying himself with sliding off her shoes to clean away the blood that had stained her feet.

"Cedric, talk to me," she pleaded. "Just tell me so I can understand."

Cedric stared at her legs, gently cleaning the blood away. Sofia leaned forward and took his face in her hands, forcing him to look up at her.

"What did you do?" Sofia's voice shook. "Please, please just tell me. Because my imagination...it's taking me to a dark place, Cedric." She slid off of the stool and onto the floor, her hands softening against Cedric's face. He dropped the bloodied cloth to the floor and let his hands fall to Sofia's waist. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck, desperate for comfort, for something solid to cling to amongst the emotional chaos.

"You're - you're in shock, Sofia," he bumbled out, trying to divert her.

" _Please_ ," she breathed into his neck, kissing him once there before her body started to shake with sobs. "Please, _please_ tell me what's going on."

Cedric shifted them so that his back was pressed up against a wall. He cradled Sofia's back with his arm, her head pressed against his chest. He shushed her softly. "You should rest."

Sofia's fingers dug into Cedric's shirt, her words insistent between sobs. "You have to tell me _now_. You said you wouldn't lose me, Cedric. You will lose me, you _will_ , you will if you keep me in the dark."

Cedric let his head fall back against the wall and slowly rocked Sofia in his arms as she cried. He closed his eyes.

"You have to promise me you'll listen until the end." He had never heard his own voice sound quite so small. He felt Sofia nod her head against his chest. With an ounce of concentration and an unseen flick of his finger, the bolt of his tower door slid silently into place. He took in a deep breath, Sofia's head rising against his chest.

"Your Aunt Tilly leads the rebellion Amber accused you of being behind. It began after your sister stabbed your aunt in the heart. I helped to save her and got involved. The final act being the use of my position and influence to…"

"To kill Amber." Sofia finished, her sobbing subsided. Her voice was hollow but even.

"I...yes."

Silence stretched out between them. But Sofia wasn't running or pushing away from Cedric. It was a small miracle. He was grateful. The silence lasted so long and Sofia's breathing was so calm, Cedric thought she might have fallen asleep. The questioning would end. If he was lucky, it might never resume.

"She said you cast a spell."

Ah. Not so lucky after all.

"I did. Today. With your Aunt Tilly. On James, so he could take the crown."

"That's why the castle hummed?"

"Yes."

"And everyone was unconscious?"

"Everyone who served the crown was knocked out as a side effect of the spell. It's an ancient addendum to prevent the spell casters from being interrupted by those who served the previous monarch before the spell could be completed. They'll wake with the dawn and serve their new, sane King."

"Oh."

Sofia softened against him, somehow less tense with his honesty. Cedric held to her. Her presence was a comfort to him. With the spell done, Amber gone, and James in power, it was time to start thinking of how to leave Enchancia with Sofia by his side. The only obstacle now was her marriage -

"Amber said - she implied there was a spell cast on me. Before I left."

Damn it all. Two obstacles: her marriage and this bitter truth he never wanted her to know.

"Amber was dying, Sofia. Even the strongest mind does strange things on death's doorstep and her mind was, well, you experienced it first hand. She was probably just responding the resonating from the spell Tilly and I were working."

Sofia pressed away from Cedric's chest so she could stare into his eyes. She didn't speak. She only waited. Cedric shook his head.

"It's better not to know."

She didn't respond.

"You'll never forgive me for this. We'll never be able to move on, to move forward."

She didn't respond.

"I don't want you to know this side of me. It's nothing I'm proud of."

"If the situation repeated itself, if you somehow went back in time and had the choice to do it a second time - would you?"

"Please don't make me answer you."

She tilted her head to the side, looking so vulnerable, so exposed.

"It was done to me, wasn't it?"

Cedric nodded slowly, letting his head hang.

"Then I deserve to know."

Cedric helped to settle Sofia on the ground beside him. He couldn't look at her, he couldn't touch her as he told her. He felt as if the truth leaving his lips would burn her and leave her with scars she didn't deserve. He looked away from her, trying not to focus on the feel of her heat beside him or the scent of her, now tainted with iron and copper notes from Amber's blood still soaked into her gown.

"Amber came to me after your engagement was announced. She knew. About us. I didn't question as to how. There was a spell - a curse - she had read about. She suggested it as a way to ensure your marriage would fail. So you could come back. So you could seek out the life you wanted instead of the one that was required of you." He dared a glance at Sofia. She was staring at him, concentration etched deep into her face. "Did you know your marriage contract required an heir be born within eight years?"

Sofia shook her head, her concentration slowly shifting to comprehension. "The two of you laid a curse on me."

Cedric looked away and nodded once.

"So that I could nullify my marriage contract innocently, thus not inviting a retaliatory war, by not having a child."

Realization and pain seemed to wash over Sofia in waves. She looked boneless as she let her body collapse back against the wall, her hand fluttering down to touch her lower abdomen.

"I can't...you _took_ …"

Cedric drew his knees towards his chest and pressed his forehead against his them. "There's more," he muttered.

"...more…" Sofia said distantly with a quiet exhale.

"The curse required consummation. And I believe it played a heavy hand into Amber's vanishing sanity. It's - she's - my fault. Amber is - was - my…responsibility"

Cedric held his breath. He heard Sofia calmly get to her feet and walk across the room. She tried the door and it didn't open. He could hear her trying to move the bolt, but it wouldn't budge. Cedric looked up to see Sofia trying to pull the door open; shaking it, rattling it, banging on it with the flat of her palm.

"Let me out, Cedric." It was an order, not a request, issued as she faced the door.

"...No."

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: So I was afraid to write this chapter. I didn't think I was, but then I avoided my laptop when it was literally sitting in my lap for over an hour. And then my cold came and whacked me upside the head in the middle of a wedding we were at on Saturday. It was a long weekend. Oof.**

 **But hey! Finally some answers, huh? Woo for that.  
I think the purpose of the curse is pretty clear. I'm going to lay it out more specifically in the next chapter. If you aren't completely certain, just wait. I'll be more specific soon. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Open this door, Cedric!" Sofia shouted, facing the door.

Cedric unfolded from the floor and scrambled up to his feet. His posture, feet spread and firmly planted, gave him a confidence he didn't really feel.

"No." His response was firm.

Sofia pounded the door with her fist. "Damnit, Cedric! Let me out!"

He took slow steps towards her, moving and speaking calmly. "I will not."

She stilled, her next words more nervous than angry. "Why not."

"Because if you leave now," he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. She flinched away, pressing closer to the door. Cedric pulled his hand back and kept a respectful distance of a few feet between them. "If you leave now, we'll be over. If you leave now, I will lose you forever and I swore to you yesterday that I never would again. No matter the consequences."

He heard her suck in a shuttering breath. "No matter the consequences?" she echoed, fear shaking her voice.

"Merlin, Sofia! It's not - it's not like that. I'd never hurt you, please you have to believe that!"

"How can I?!" She hissed at him as she whirled around to face him. "You slept with my sister to curse me barren! You encouraged her to hang me when I finally found my way home! You killed her, slowly and painfully. She had been bleeding for _hours_ by the time I found her. You did that, Cedric. You killed her. Cruelly."

"I did. I did all of those things but I did none of them maliciously."

Sofia scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."

"Amber believing you dead was the only way she would stop hurting you. And, in case you forgot, I saved you and healed the damage to your throat."

"You also drugged me."

"In your best interests, yes. I did. So your body would have the chance to recover. So you would be safe."

"Unbelievable…You don't deny any of it."

"I know my sins, Sofia. They haunt me. They have haunted me since you left. But, Merlin help me, I would do them all again." There was a ferocity in his voice, now. "I would do it all over again. It was the only way to save you -"

"I didn't want saving!"

Hurt flashed in Cedric's face. "You would stay with your husband?"

"I - no - I -." Sofia rubbed a hand across her eyes, her voice dialing back from yelling to something more composed. "No. Given the chance I would never have him as my husband. Given the chance, I would leave him. But that doesn't mean I was some damsel in a tower, waving a handkerchief in the air, crying out 'please, forgo all morality and do whatever you must to save helpless little me.'"

"I never saw you as a damsel in distress. Not like that."

"And yet you kept me in the dark. How many opportunities did you have to send me letters, to tell me what was going on? I could have found a way to come sooner. I could have helped with Amber. It didn't have to come to this!"

"I made choices that had to be made at the time."

"You don't understand. You didn't have to make these choices -"

"No, _you_ don't understand, Sofia!" Cedric stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders. "It was constant chaos. I was always by Amber's side to make sure she didn't drag Enchancia into ruin alongside her mind. She was unpredictable and cruel and demanding in a way you've never known. I tried to save her. I did. I researched and worked spells on her that had no effect but to make her worse. There was no hope for her! It was all I could do to keep her at bay, to keep her sated to keep your brother alive! And I did it for you! All for you!"

Cedric's hands slid up to Sofia's face, his thumbs brushing gently over her cheeks.

"I don't care about this place. I don't care about your siblings. Everything I did, _everything_ I did I did it for you. For things you care about. So you could be happy, so you could find the silver linings - the best in the worst. Because I am hopelessly, piteously in love with you. I never stopped. I can never stop."

He brushed his lips desperately over hers and felt hope and relief when she didn't pull away. She returned the kiss, timid at first and then filled with need. Heat blossomed between them just as Sofia turned her head away, her hands pressing against Cedric's chest.

"I-I-I have to think," she said, panting.

Cedric kissed her again and felt her melt against him before she pushed away a second time.

"Don't think. Please. Please just let me hold you. Let me love you."

Sofia whimpered as Cedric pulled her into his arms, kissing her a third time.

"Cedric," she said against his lips. "We can't -"

"I can reverse the curse," Cedric blurted out.

Sofia pushed out of his arms, stumbling a step backwards to press against the door. She let its solid frame hold her upright as her hands found their way again to her belly. She was looking off in the distance, somewhere far away.

"You have no idea how many little lives….how much loss. How much pain…." she said in a hushed voice. Just as Cedric reached out a comforting hand, Sofia broke her gaze away from the distance to look at him. "I need - I need to change. This dress is….it's ruined."

Cedric gestured to the steps that led up to his bedroom at the top of the tower. "You're welcome to anything I have, Sofia."

She didn't respond to him. She simply started walking to the stairs.

"Let me help you."

Sofia extended her arm in a stopping gesture without turning from the stairs. Cedric didn't move.

"We aren't done. We aren't resolved. You aren't forgiven. But I can't stand here in a dress soaked in blood for another minute. And I can't be near you or look at you because I feel...confusing waves of wanting to hurt you and be held by you. I love you. Stars above, somehow I still love you but I need to think and I can't do that when you look at me and when you tell me you love me and when you kiss me. You have to let me think, Cedric. You have to stay down here and not follow me upstairs and respect me enough to let me think."

Cedric could hear the stress and the tears in her voice. It took every ounce of self control he had to his name to stay put. To simply watch her climb the three stories up to his bedroom. To simply watch her walk away from him. Again.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: Oh man. Things are so complicated. You have no idea how many times I wanted to type "and then a dragon appeared and melted the castle and all of its inhabitants. The end."**

 **It's hard to write because it's uncomfortable, which means it's good and needs to be written, right? She still loves him. He still loves her. But is love enough?**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Sconces lighted as Sofia walked into Cedric's spartan room and shut the door. The room was round, the furniture specially shaped to fit flush against the walls. A bulky monster of a four-poster bed occupied most of the space. There was one large window with heavy, dark, velvet drapes that were tied shut. The window was framed by a wardrobe and a desk. There were a few piles on the desk: a stack of letters, a few books, a bottle of ink with a quill beside it, and a journal opened to the most recent entry.

Sofia paced around the room a few times before she stripped her dress off; the slapping of the blood-wetted silk against her legs was an unpleasant reminder of recent events. Her dress finally in a irrevocably stained lavender pile on the floor, Sofia found herself in just her shift and sitting at the desk. The pile of letters were yellowed with age and all in her hand. They were the letters she had written him over the years, before she gave up when he stopped responding. The envelopes showed signs of being opened again and again; the corners were worn, the ink smudged here and there. The letters were important to him. It was bittersweet to see, considering how she had burned each of his old letters to her after the replies had stopped coming, after she had come to believe he didn't love her anymore.

Her eyes danced over to the open journal. She saw her name appear several times across the page before she jumped back from the journal as if the pages might reach out and bite her. She shouldn't snoop. She should just change and sit on the bed and try and figure out what to do next. She wanted to see James. She wanted to see her Aunt Tilly. She shivered and crossed her arms. She wanted to be standing around in more than just her shift at the top of a drafty tower. Sofia walked over to the wardrobe and pulled the double doors open.

The offerings were sparse and decidedly masculine. She ended up settling on a well worn pair of black-almost-gray trousers that she was able to pull tight enough for them not to slide down her waist. They were impossibly long, however, requiring her to roll them up over her ankles several times. She also took one of his cream colored shirts and slipped it over her head. The fabric was cool against her skin. But she immediately felt as though Cedric's warm arms were embracing her. The scent of him on the shirt was almost overwhelming. The scent reminded her of earth, of painfully short days spent outside in the sun, of hiding together and stealing kisses when no one would see.

Those days felt like a dream. Sofia had been safe and loved and happy. And then she had been used as an olive branch to subdue an enemy. With barely a week of warning, she had been transplanted into a new culture with a rigid new family and a foreign husband. She had tried, oh she had tried to even just befriend him. But he hadn't been receptive to her attempts. It wasn't how things were done, the maids told her reluctantly. A wife's place, a Queen's place, was silently beside her King. An object to be admired. A tool to continue the royal line. And certainly not someone to be loved. A Monarch's love was reserved for their people. Sofia had tried that, throwing herself into the philanthropies her position allowed her to interact with. It wasn't enough. It barely touched the love she had felt with Cedric, the love she desperately wanted to feel from her husband as he turned her over in the dark of night and slid into her unceremoniously, finishing with a grunt before leaving her alone in their bed. She had learned not to try for kisses, for touches, for affection. There was no love there to be found, only duty.

And so, starved for connection, for love, for anything, Sofia found herself willing to overlook all of Cedric's misdeeds in the desperate hope that he might be bothered to hold her again.

Cedric was right. He had acted with good intentions. Her husband was a possessive, paranoid man. And Sofia was a poor liar. He would have discovered any plan for her to violate the marriage contract, a document Sofia had not been allowed to read. Her reading it hadn't been deemed necessary by her husband. But to curse her, and to sleep with Amber to do it...Sofia knew that magic sometimes required the generation of a huge amount of energy. That's where the association of ritual sacrifice and magic came from. Sex could generate the same kind of energy, if a less permanent kind. Beyond the curse, the idea of Cedric sleeping with Amber - it awoke a jealousy in Sofia that she was uncomfortable with. Amber had never married and kept Cedric close to her side. It didn't seem farfetched to imagine them being intimate again.

Curious, nervous, and unwilling to be lied to, Sofia decided to find the answers for herself. She found herself sliding into the desk chair again. She opened the journal, searching for the few days that preceded her wedding. She scanned lines until she found the curse written out and the steps it would require. She marked the date and flipped forward until she found the same date a year forward. The entry read:

 _Sofia,  
_ _Two of eight.  
_ _My soul is blackened again today.  
_ _I love you_

They all began and ended the same way, no matter the entry. They were all addressed to her. It was a manifesto of confession; an entire book filled with his every dark choice and declarations of love, often accompanied by apologies, after each entry.

It made Sofia feel ill. She pushed back from the desk and stood up, pacing around the room again. It made her feel ill to know Cedric had slept with Amber again and again to keep the curse viable. It made her ill to know he kept dutiful records of the terrible things he had done, likely reading over them again and again as some sort of twisted recompense. It made her ill to be filled with sympathy and compassion in knowing concretely that he wasn't guiltless.

It made Sofia feel ill to know, deep in her soul, that she loved him even more for it.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: I feel like we needed a chapter to show some Sofia introspection, to understand how it could be possible for Cedric and Sofia to move forward together, if they do. I tried to make it clear that Sofia isn't ignoring his actions just because she's too dewy-eyed-in-love. The conditions of her life have scarred her, marred her innocence and she's desperate for what circumstance has denied her, to the point that she may be willing to adjust her world view. I hope that came through.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

It was somewhere in the realm of two hours before Cedric heard the creak of his bedroom door. He hadn't known what to do, so he spent the time sorting through his ingredient stores, making a list of what he needed to replenish. It was mindless work, which was good as Cedric's mind was restless. Years of planning, of plotting had finally come to fruition. His part was done. There was little left for him to do but leave and let someone else fill in the position of Royal Sorcerer and he could only find pity for whomsoever would replace him.

But his misery dulled significantly to see Sofia descending the steps of the tower, engulfed in an old pair of his pants and his favorite shirt. She had braided her hair to hang down her back in a long, neat tail. She looked out of place and beautiful and dangerously resolved. And she held his journal in one hand. Cedric felt his adam's apple bob as he took in a nervous gulp of air.

When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, they stood frozen, staring at each other. Cedric tried to read her expression, but Sofia revealed nothing to him. He took a step towards her.

'No," she stopped him with the word. "I have to get through this and I can't do that with you - just, please sit." She gestured to the stool she had sat on earlier. Cedric felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach as he turned, respecting Sofia's wishes, and moved to sit on the stool. Surely, this was it. The gamble he took hadn't been worth it. He would leave here irrevocably bruised and alone. Merlin, if he was going to be alone, maybe it wasn't worth leaving at all.

Sofia got another stool and placed it in the center of the room. Cedric's was near the wall. There were easily three yards between them. Seemingly satisfied with the distance, Sofia sat down, put the journal on her lap, and folded her hands atop the journal.

"This is difficult," she opened.

"It is," Cedric agreed with a nod of his head.

She was silent for a long moment before speaking again.

"I was never privy to the conditions to my marriage, beyond fulfilling the role of a good wife and a good queen as I was raised to understand them. When it became clear that my husband had a vastly different definition of those two roles, I knew my only chance of true happiness would come with my child. Becoming pregnant was never a struggle. It was like some greater power knew it was the only way I would find love.

"Six times. I lost six little lives. Six hopes and dreams, gone." She paused a moment to tap the journal in her lap. "Seeing as how this journal seems to be the manifesto of your misdeeds, I marked the dates of their deaths in it. That grief is your responsibility, now."

Cedric expected tears or rage. But these seemed to be healed, albeit deep, scars. She was collected and composed. He, however, felt worse than primordial pond scum as he quietly accepted Sofia's words with his head bowed.

"Just as Amber's insanity and her death are your responsibility, just as her actions in her insanity are your responsibility." Her tone lightened slightly. "Just as freeing James and performing the necessary steps to ensure his reign is your responsibility."

Cedric raised an eyebrow, lifting his head slightly. "Sofia, I hardly think -"

"- one good thing makes up for nearly a decade of terrible deeds?" She finished for him.

"Well...yes."

"I agree."

"Then what comes next?"

"You burn this book."

"I do what?"

"You can't - _we_ can't move on if you continue to punish yourself for things already ended."

Cedric's eyes widened and he felt his heart skip several beats. "Sofia, what are you saying?"

Her face looked pained and desperate. "It would be so much easier if I didn't love you, Cedric. But you don't just stop loving someone because they hurt you. And I can't bring myself to believe that you hurt me maliciously."

"I didn't," he added quickly, breathless.

"I don't know how to forgive you. But I - I don't want to be without you." She almost cringed as she said the words. "So you have to burn the journal so you stop looking back and start looking forward."

The journal immediately lifted up out of Sofia's lap. Her eyes followed it as it came to hover in the air between them and, with a snap of Cedric's fingers, caught fire. They both stared at the book engulfed in the flames, pages curling until they vanished into ash. It took less than a minute for the book to dissolve into a neat pile on the floor. The fire gone, Cedric could see Sofia clearly as, with a sweeping motion of his arms, one of the windows burst open and the wind took ash outside to scatter into the dark night.

They were standing now, still apart, as the wisps of late winter curled into tower through the open window.

"What now?" Cedric asked, barely holding back his need to storm across the room and take Sofia into his arms, to show her how much she meant to him, how much she was changing his life in this moment.

"I want you to break the curse. My eighth wedding anniversary is approaching, I'm not pregnant, and I want my marriage annulled. And I want to see James and Aunt Tilly."

"Need I remind you again that you're thought to be dead?"

"And need I remind you that my husband will declare war on Enchancia if he finds out his property is dead by Amber's hand? I won't run away and leave James to deal with that."

"I will...I will think of something, then. Something to end it without conflict."

"Fine. James and Tilly?"

"Are resting after the spell. I can bring you to them in the morning."

"Fine."

Cedric watched Sofia cross her arms and shiver as silence drew out between them.

"Sofia?"

"Yes?"

"It's late."

"It is. Are you tired, too? From the spell?"

"I am." He suddenly felt like a boy, timid and bumbling. "W-would you like to go to b-bed?"

Sofia stared at him, seeming to weigh him in her eyes. "I would," she said slowly.

"We can break the curse t-tonight, if you'd like."

Cedric watched as Sofia's mind pieced the implication of his words together. "I - yes. I….yes, I would like that, I think."

"Upstairs?"

She nodded. "Upstairs."

Cedric made an 'after you' gesture with his arms and Sofia started up the steps. Cedric followed behind her, unable to hold back his hand from touching the small of her back, supporting her quietly as she walked up the steps. She didn't flinch away from his touch and Cedric released a silent prayer of thanks for the small and impossibly big miracles that he didn't deserve.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: You may have noticed the rating of the story changed. Next chapter will involve the two of them breaking the curse, in much the same way Amber and Cedric cast the curse, so skip Chapter 12 if that's not your scene. I wasn't sure if I was going to include that in this story, but I decided to. If you skip Chapter 12, please just assume that Chapter 13 is the 'morning after.'**

 **Those sorts of things take me a bit longer to write (and my kid and I both still have colds that just won't quit) so please be patient with the timing of my next update :)**

 **Also, I try and catch them, but when I copy paste chapters from my google doc into ff's doc manager, sentences are weirdly and randomly incomplete. Know that I'll reread it myself and catch it eventually - thanks for your understanding.**

 *****to be clear: Sofia hasn't forgiven Cedric. His sins are so monumental, she can't fathom how to possibly forgive him. But she wants to find a way to move forward, she wants out of her marriage without inciting a war, she wants her body to be healed of its curse - no matter how many stumbles and trips and falls come along with it.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, THIS CHAPTER IS A BIG, MAGICAL LEMON. The word count is higher than other chapters because I wanted to keep all the citrus to this one chapter. Enjoy!**

.

* * *

.

Chapter Twelve

Two people who knew they were about the be intimate had rarely stood so awkwardly in a room together. Well, that probably wasn't entirely true. Sofia's experience in an arranged marriage wasn't unheard of in this day and age. She had several contemporaries from school who had gone to their marital beds not having met their new spouses until that day, just like her. Her new husband had been well into his cups that night. It had been uncomfortable and sterile and quick and things hadn't gotten much better since then.

Sofia had come into the room and stood beside the foot of the bed. Cedric had lingered by the door. Both were stagnant, one waiting for the other to say or do something first. Cedric cleared his throat in a steadying sort of way and took long steps across the room to his desk. Sofia watched him as he opened up a lower drawer and drew out nine candles, each a different shape and a different color. A second drawer revealed two unmarked brown bottles, each the length and width of a finger. A wave of his wand lighted extinguished the sconces and lighted the candles, sending them to hover above the bed in a large, slowly rotating circle.

"Nine candles - for the nine months of gestation," he explained, one hand leaning on the back of the chair for support. "The bottles hold rose oil and clary sage oil to anoint upon your lower abdomen. And then there are words you must speak...during. I can put them into your head with a little memorization spell. That would be the simplest way, I mean. Or you could take the time to memorize it before - before we begin, I -"

"Cedric," Sofia silenced him softly as he started to rush his words together in his nervousness. "Please don't misunderstand. I'm here for the spell to break the curse, yes. But this isn't just an exercise in magic, for me. I need it to be - it's...more."

"It is?" He sounded like a child, hopeful but timid to believe her.

Sofia nodded as she took slow steps over to Cedric. "It's what we never got the chance to have. I've never been loved...in bed, I mean." It only took a few steps for Sofia to stand in front of Cedric. She slipped her wedding band off her finger and set it on the desk with a clunk of metal against wood. She took in a resolute little breath and slid her freed hand down Cedric's arm to entwine her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand immediately and brought his other hand up to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch, eyes shut tight so she could focus on other sensations.

"I don't deserve you." The statement was clearly stated and laced with guilt and pain.

"You don't," she agreed simply, turning her head so her lips could press into the palm of his hand. "But this, tonight, is how you start to. So spell the words into my head so we can begin."

The warmth of his hand lingered there on her face for a moment more before Cedric let her go in favor of picking up his wand. He murmured a few words in a language Sofia didn't understand while his wand was pointed at the side of her temple. Understanding flowed into Sofia's mind like a river suddenly undammed. She knew the words of the spell. She knew when they had to be said. She knew the conditions were right for them to break the curse. Eager to begin, eager to be whole and healed again, Sofia walked towards the bed, pulling Cedric behind her. He scooped up the bottles of oil and willingly followed.

Except for the flicker of candlelight, it was dark in the room. That made things easier, less stressful, somehow. Sofia let go of Cedric's hand and walked to the other side of the bed. She turned her back to him as she loosened the the tie that held her pants up on her waist. She could feel Cedric's eyes on her as the pants slid down her legs and she stepped out of them. She shifted to slip her shoulder through the open collar of her shirt and did the same with her other shoulder, letting the shirt go the way of the pants in a little pool of fabric around her feet.

Naked, Sofia sucked in a breath before she turned to face Cedric. She had spent enough time taking stock of her own body to know exactly what Cedric was seeing. Her husband never made a comment on her body, but she wasn't blind to which women tended to grab his attention at functions. They were everything Sofia was not; voluptuous with hips that rocked from side to side like a ship being tossed on the sea, tanned skin, and dark eyes that spoke to smokey experience. Sofia pressed her lips together as she looked up at Cedric through her eyelashes.

Cedric was staring at her, his eyes drinking her in. And in a sudden flurry of movement, he heeled off his shoes and climbed up into the bed, walking across the heavy quilt on his knees to close the distance between them.

"Can I -" his voice cracked and he laughed, cleared his throat and began again. "Can I touch you?"

Her breath caught in her throat before she could answer. Sofia had belonged to someone for so long that she had forgotten what it was to have ownership over her own body. One little question and Cedric had nearly brought her to tears. She nodded and only then did she feel Cedric wrap an arm around her waist and tangle a hand into her hair and press his lips to hers in a kiss that spoke of tenderness and slow-building heat. It evolved easily; Cedric's tongue pressed against the seam of Sofia's lips and she opened eagerly to him. He pulled her closer and lifted her up onto the bed with him, both of them standing on their knees.

The kiss broke only long enough for Sofia to pull Cedric's shirt up over his head with his assistance. The sensation of her skin pressed up against his was dizzying. She heard the clink of glass and pulled back as Cedric's arm unwrapped from her waist to reveal the two bottles of oil held between his fingers.

"Lay back," he instructed, not unkindly. Sofia obeyed, her head falling into a pillow while Cedric pulled the corks from the bottles with his teeth. She was surprised her find her insecurities gone as he shamelessly stared down at the sight of her. He partially covered the opening of each tiny bottle with a thumb as he shook each one over her stomach, sprinkling the oil down in little drops. The bottles vanished and Cedric's hands were on her, languidly rubbing the oil into her skin. The scents of clary sage and rose were strong and they didn't quite marry; each retained its own identity while serving individual purposes. It wasn't unpleasant.

As the scent of the oil flooded her nose, she knew it was time to begin.

"Abundant mother," Sofia intoned, "hear my plea upon this night."

The candles stopped flickering, the light from each wick unnaturally unmoving. The energy in the room changed and Sofia could feel a tingle of something more under her skin. And then Cedric was beside her, his lips finding hers as his hands glided up her torso to find new homes cupping her breasts. She moaned against his mouth. It changed the kiss to something more devouring. He caressed the peak of her breast with one hand, the other finding its way back into her hair to pull her head even closer to his. Her hands started to move with a mind of their own and Sofia was only barely aware of the fact that they were desperately pulling at the ties of Cedric's pants, helping him shimmy out of them. She broke the kiss and turned her head to the side, knowing she had more words to speak. Cedric brought his attentions instead to her neck.

"Into the mind of another -" she paused to gasp as Cedric ran the tip of his tongue down from her earlobe to her collar bone. "I willingly deliver my trust."

He was naked, now, and she couldn't hold herself back from running her fingers across the sharp cut of his hip bones. He nipped at her neck in response. Sofia felt desperately that she needed Cedric impossibly close to her - inside of her. It made her feel frantic with that need and she could see the same energy streaming into him. The spell was working its magic and she was more than willing to give herself over to it.

Her hand reached down and wrapped around his cock, thumb surely stroking him with a bold tempo. It was his turn to moan, temporarily frozen against her as she touched him. Sofia couldn't help her smirk as she spoke the next lines without interruption.

"Into the hands of another, I willingly lay my plight. Powered and impassioned by this holy lust."

There was more, just a bit more to say but her tongue stalled as Cedric brought his hand down to her dark curls. Sure fingers spread her natural honey between her lower lips, deviating to roll her clit between two fingers and force her hips to twitch in response. He played there for a minute or an hour, Sofia could never know. She was lost in the sensation of him pleasuring her in a way she had never known from any hand but her own.

Sofia pressed her feet down into the bed as she ground against his hand. Her own hands were wanderers across his arms, his hips, his backside. Her nails dug into his skin, begging him wordlessly for more.

"May I know not destruction," she bit out between panting sighs, "just as the stars know not destruction in the sky where they are." Cedric slid a finger inside of her and she nearly screamed from the pleasure of it. The candles had begun to flicker furiously, burning faster than they should as they continued their slow spin around the bed. And then Cedric was straddling her, perfectly positioned but paused. His hands were around her cheeks and he leaned forward to kiss her just as he had the day before. He kissed her lips and her cheeks and her eyelids before resting his forehead against hers. They held there for a moment before Cedric pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes.

The spell had inspired frenzied passion, yes, but there was much more behind his gaze. Concern and appreciation and so much love. It could be enough.

"Bring forth," she whispered with encouragement from the spell in the corners of her mind. Cedric thrust inside of her and Sofia couldn't breathe for the pleasure of it all. He held there, still as they both acclimated to the feeling of one another. He pulled out only slightly before pushing back in again. It wasn't only a feeling of fullness but a feeling of completion that Sofia felt with his cock buried deep inside her. She didn't know if the feeling was sprung from herself or from the spell but she honestly couldn't bring herself to care.

Cedric found a steady rhythm that was only interrupted by needy kisses from them both. He repositioned to rest his weight on one arm and Sofia wrapped her legs around his hips. He slowed their rhythm as his free hand found her clit and began to flick it in exactly the way he had moments before. Sofia let out a cry and arched her back, words escaping between her lips.

"Bring forth!"

She cried out wordlessly again, biting her tongue to prevent her from screaming out his name instead and inadvertently interrupting the spell. Cedric began to kiss her again, but now it was a rough thing; clashing teeth and bruising lips. Sofia ran her hands into his hair, clinging to him there as his pace increased. He grunted and forced his head up and his eyes - they were asking, begging permission. Sofia nodded, bringing her hips up to meet his as he pounded into her. They both cried out in basest pleasure, Sofia's mouth forming her cries into words,

"Bring forth!"

Cedric collapsed against her and Sofia felt certain that she could see the stars through the roof of the tower. The candles stopped spinning, their wicks used up as the bits of wax that remained fell to the bed and floor around them. The scent of the oil was gone, replaced by the heady scent of their love making instead. But what was more was an undefinable sense of wholeness from deep within Sofia's core. A bit of her had been blocked that she hadn't truly noticed before amongst her less than desirable circumstances. She felt...hopeful, for the first time in years. Exhausted, but hopeful.

A soft kiss to her shoulder brought Sofia out of her introspection. She smiled sleepily, running her fingers up and down Cedric's bare back. He shivered and rolled off of her. He pulled the quilt up over them and draped his arm across Sofia, his head nuzzling against her neck.

"I love you," he mumbled into her shoulder. The combination of the energy he expended with the coup spell earlier in the day and this spell, not to mention the rigorous physical activity required of the curse breaker, had clearly exhausted him. Sofia curled her arm up to stroke her hand across his hair. She opened her mouth to respond, but his breath had already settled into an even pattern. He was asleep. She inclined her head towards his until she could rest her cheek against his forehead. Clinging to the healed wholeness within her, Sofia closed her eyes and let sleep take her away to tomorrow.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: So this is actually the quickest I've ever written a scene like this and I'm *really* hoping that doesn't show in a negative way. I'm crediting the combination of 7 years + magic making it a quick, powerful, needy thing**

 **And in case you're wondering, here's the curse breaker spell all written out together. I cobbled it together from several different prayers for fertility from several different religions:**

 **Abundant mother, hear my plea upon this night!  
** **Into the mind of another, I willingly deliver my trust  
** **Into the hands of another, I willingly lay my plight  
** **Powered and impassioned by this holy lust.  
** **May I know not destruction, just as the stars  
** **Know not destruction in the sky where they are  
** **Bring forth!  
** **Bring forth!  
** **Bring forth!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Light trickled through a thin break in the dark curtains. Sofia had curled closer into Cedric while she slept and he had pulled her against him. She woke up feeling warm and content, temporarily lost in the bliss of being valued for her self. There was a nagging voice in the back of her head, reminding her of responsibilities, of yesterday's events. But it all felt removed and far away from this moment. She decided to allow herself the indulgence of the bed for just a while longer.

Cedric's forearm and hand were all she could see, but she could feel him behind her. He was tall and all limbs that were wound and wrapped around her. He was too thin. She hadn't noticed it under the cover of his sorcerer's robes. She supposed it came from the stress of living essentially a double life. That's something she could change, now.

A sudden inhale through his nose had Cedric releasing a loud snore into her ear. He smacked his lips together a few times and pressed his head deeper into the pillow, collecting Sofia more tightly in his arms. His one arm pillowed her head and the other comfortably cupped her breast. He sighed and Sofia almost laughed at the regularity of it all. People who loved each other in mundane lives free of espionage and royal obligation woke up like this every morning. It seemed unreachable, and yet here she was in the midst of it. She could have it. If nothing else, Cedric's eyes had told her as much last night in the middle of the spell. He could wrap her in his arms and teleport them somewhere far, far away and they could start again. Fresh. Clean.

But leaving like that was impossible for her. Guilt would follow her with every step she took from her homeland. Forgiving Cedric on any level would be impossible if he scooped her up and away, leaving Enchancia to ruin. It was time to act. It was time to move. She slowly began to untangle herself from Cedric. He groaned at the movement, trying to pull her in again. She rolled over in the bed to face him, her hands lying on his chest to keep their bodies apart.

"Shhhh, go back to sleep."

"I had a nightmare," he mumbled, eyes still closed as his eyebrows furrowed. "You weren't real."

"I'm real, Cedric." Sofia smoothed her hand over his face, easing his expression back to a relaxed one. She pressed her lips softly to his and lingered there a moment before whispering "go back to sleep."

Sofia eased away from him and he didn't protest, his breathing evening out again. She pulled the quilt up over his exposed shoulder and took a moment to to look down at him. He looked so vulnerable, so human. He could wield incredible magical power. He had crafted a diabolical plan under the nose of a cursed, paranoid woman in favor of a good and ethical man. There was darkness in him. But lying there asleep, Sofia could see the outline of the fragile, unguarded man behind it all.

It might be enough.

Breaking from her speculation, Sofia silently slipped into the clothes of Cedric's she had worn the night before. She didn't bother to attempt to brush her hair, pulling it back into an untamed tail instead. Barefooted, she eased the bedroom door open and slipped out, making her way out of the tower and into the heart of the castle.

Somewhere down the second hall, Sofia realized she had the same problem as yesterday; she had no concrete idea as to where her brother might be. Though, unlike yesterday, she did find herself ducking around corners to avoid household staff bustling up and down the halls. Somewhere down the sixth hall, a door opened unexpectedly and Sofia found herself nose to nose with her Aunt Tilly.

"Aren't you dead, dear?" Tilly looked and sounded incredibly composed, though Sofia did note Tilly's hand slowly drawing to her waist, likely for some kind of weapon for protection. Sofia had to contain herself from throwing her arms around her aunt and sobbing into her shoulder with relief. She blinked twice as she tried to will words into her mouth.

"I-I never was. It was Cedric's plan - for me to appear to be dead."

"He does like his plots, that one." Tilly's eyes narrowed ever so slightly while she walked a slow circle around Sofia, her finger tapping thoughtfully against her lips. "Though I suppose I could see the advantage. It certainly kept you safe these past two days. Tell me, what occupation have we shared, Sofia?"

Sofia tried not to blink as Tilly starred purposefully into her eyes. "Story Keeper"

"And the name of the creature you befriended on our first adventure?"

Sofia had to think on that question, but the answer, blessedly, came to her after only a moment of concentration. "Wilber." The name drew a little smile across her lips as she thought of a time spent in so much innocence.

Arms wrapped around her and Sofia released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Tilly's hand stroked the back of Sofia's neck, just as she had when Sofia was a child. It brought Sofia a sense of comfort that she could never hope to replicate. Tilly broke the embrace, holding Sofia by the shoulders.

"Stay here, dear. Come in when I call you."

Tilly disappeared inside the door she had just exited and Sofia realized then she was standing outside of her father's study. James's study, now. Barely a minute passed before the door was thrown open and James rushed at her, taking her into his arms and lifting her up off the floor, spinning her around before setting her down but refusing to let go.

"You grown so tall!" was all Sofia could think of to say, muffled against his broad chest. He had been barely twenty the last time she had seen him. She was certain he had grown at least a foot.

"You're alive," he said over and over again in response.

"Come on, let's go inside," Tilly said, holding open the door. James shepherded Sofia into the study with his arm around her shoulder.

Settled in a deep armchair with a cup of tea and a piece of toast in her hands, Sofia spoke for a long time. She spoke of her past seven years away and isolated. She shared the resources at her husband's disposal and the real threat he could pose to Enchancia. Then she shared her past two days with them. She told them about the insanity Amber suffered from because of the Amulet of Avalor, and how the Amulet was in a pocket of Amber's dress. She didn't tell them about the curse Amber and Cedric had laid upon her, however. Telling them would only accomplish distrust and anger. It was her cross to bear with Cedric and no one else's.

"I needed to come back to life, if you will, to ensure my husband wouldn't retaliate with war."

"Even with the alliance?" James asked, his voice heavy with the weight of his symbolic crown.

"I belong to him in his eyes, James. My death at the hands of Enchancia's former Queen would insult him and invalidate the alliance in his eyes."

"I hate this, Sofia. I hate how he treats you. I hate how your marriage came to be in the first place. Father's hands were tied in the scenario, I know that. I went over it with him again and again before he died, but we couldn't find another solution. But I want things to change. I want to take you out of there. I just can't see how to do it."

Sofia put down her teacup and folded her hands neatly in her lap. Her expression was intense, but her eyes held a glimmer. "I have an idea, actually. But I'll need your help."

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: Raise your hand if you just realized Sofia hasn't eaten in two days. Whooooopsie. Imma gonna go ahead and credit Cedric with that healing salve having some kind of nutrients in it. Or something.**

 **The past few chapters have focused on Cedfia. I wanted to get a little closer to the intrigue that began this story before we got to the end. I'm thinking there will be two more chapters, max. Probably only one. And I'm waffling on an epilogue. We shall see.**

 **My daughter is finally on the upswing from her cold. I, however, can't seem to shake it. I thoroughly appreciate your patience with my updating as I try and think straight through the NyQuil fog.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Sofia stepped out of the study door with a sealed envelope in her hands and a smile on her lips. This was it. Her ticket to freedom. All she had to do was deliver the letter and James would legally annul her marriage. He was insisting on sending Sofia off with an honor guard which, in reality, was a group of highly trained soldiers to protect her should things go awry in her delivery. It would be a quick trip. There weren't any belongings she felt inclined to collect. She would leave the letter and her wedding band and walk away liberated.

The honor guard would require a day to be collected from the various stations they had been assigned to. James was inflexible in the choice of men and women he was selecting to send with Sofia. He would only allow the best to go with her, no matter the time it took to gather them. But Sofia wanted to leave today. She wanted to leave this hour but James, barely twenty four hours freed from being locked away in a cell for seven long years, preached patience. He was her brother. He was her King, strange as that felt to say. She would respect his orders. She could wait a day.

It was time she could use productively, anyway.

Sofia's feet lead her unerraingly back to her childhood room. A maid drew a bath, using the same scented oils Sofia had preferred before she had been swept away. It took her back to a time when her opportunities seemed endless. It helped her realize she had open-ended possibilities back in her pocket. The idea was almost more daunting than it was exciting.

Clean and combed, Sofia let her hair dry into loose waves that cascaded down her back while she chose a dress from her closet to wear. It was probably out of fashion. Amber would have been loathe to see Sofia in it, but Sofia couldn't bear to put on any of Amber's clothes. Thinking on Amber was painful. But the woman Sofia had encountered has been a pale shadow of the sister she had grown up with. It made it easier to compartmentalize her loss, easier to focus on the more pressing tasks at hand. There would be time to mourn after Sofia was free.

The room was too quiet, too empty. The silence left Sofia with too much time to think. It wasn't long before she found herself outside, ambling along the path she had scurried across yesterday. The scent of roses drew her forward. It was too early for them; the fur-lined cloak around Sofia's shoulders told her as much. But the smell was undeniable. She followed it deeper into the gardens until she found the rose garden where Amber had most often taken her afternoon tea when they were children. Cedric had awakened each bush and was moving from bud to bud, touching each one with his wand and murmuring until it opened up to a gentle, fragrant bloom.

"What are you doing?" Sofia asked, her voice not startling Cedric as he worked.

"I thought a memorial might be appropriate. For your sister." His voice was distant as he focused on his task. There were still hundreds of unopened buds to be guided into blossoming, to be permanently alive with the help of magic. Sofia sat on a long-ignored stone bench and silently watched him work as he brought roses in every shade of pink and red to life.

"I'm leaving in the morning," she said, breaking the silence when the sun started to descend from its noon peak. Cedric stopped his work and turned to look at her, his eyes questioning. "To end my marriage," she answered.

"Absolutely not." His tone was unyielding, his eyes fierce.

"I can handle myself, Cedric. I'm a grown woman." Sofia was tolerant but firm.

"And he's a tyrant. Sofia, if you go back, he'll never let you go."

"James is sending me with an honor guard. Should anything happen, I'll be safe. And I have an iron clad escape signed and sealed by the King of Enchancia."

"Which says?"

Sofia sighed. "Which says in so many words that I am not pregnant, confirmed by a physician here. And that James knows the King has slept with another woman, trying to pass off that child as my own. Thus dragging my virtue through the mud which is information that other kingdoms that have longer histories with Enchancia than his would be shocked into action if they found out about it. Unless he should peacefully release me from the marriage which, per the contract and my lack of pregnancy, is invalid anyway."

Cedric considered this for a moment before starting to move, leaving the roses incomplete as he was spurred into action.

"It's not enough. I'm going with you."

"No, Cedric, you're not." Sofia was certain that it was the steely and sharp tone of her voice that stopped Cedric in his tracks. He stared at her, seemingly torn. Sofia patted the space beside her on the bench. "Come. Sit. Help keep me warm while I explain."

He looked so uneasy as he came to sit beside her. Sofia offered him a smile but it seemed to do nothing to comfort him. Once he was sitting, Sofia edged closer to him until their legs were touching. She nestled her shoulder under his arm and let her hand rest on his knee. He held her around her shoulders like she might explode any second, fragile and unpredictable.

"Why do I get the sense you aren't just leaving your husband?" His voice was even but Sofia, with her ear pressed to his chest, could hear his heart racing.

"I have been trapped by circumstance for close to a decade. Just like you were trapped by your...choices. Your plots, your double life to find the best path for Enchancia - even if it was just for me, you still did it. But I don't have a book of sins to burn to help me move on. I had these plans, these dreams before this all started. They've changed, but they're still waiting for me. And I deserve to have them."

"You do. But why -" Sofia squeezed his knee to stop him from speaking.

"Let me finish, please."

Cedric seemed to find it within himself to bite his tongue. Sofia continued.

"I have loved you for so long that I cannot imagine my life without loving you. But I want - I so desperately want to know what it's like to be alone by choice and be happy. I want to travel the world as an adult. I want to relish freedom that I was convinced I would never have. I want the chance to know myself as who I really am, not just as a bird trapped in a gilded cage. And I can't do that with you."

"Why not?" Cedric's voice cracked on the second word and Sofia could feel the tension in his body. The sort of tension that comes when you're losing everything meaningful to you. It was tension Sofia was acutely familiar with. Sofia uncurled from under his shoulder so she could look Cedric in the eyes. He turned his head away from her. She reached up with her hand and softly guided his face to look down at hers.

"Because when I'm with you, the rest of the world stops mattering. We could go into a hut in the middle of a wood and never leave it and I don't think I would ever notice."

"I could go with you," he said in a hoarse whisper.

"That's - it's not what I want." Sofia pressed her lips together, trying to will herself strength as Cedric tried to stop his lip from quivering from the stress of holding in his emotions. He brought up his hand to clutch her hand that touched his cheek.

"I swore I would never lose you again."

"You won't be, not really."

His grip tightened on her hand, desperate. "How?!"

"I was hoping I could come back here. Come back to you."

"And how can I know you will? How can I be certain that you won't find someone else out in the world and never come home?" The hurt in his voice was palpable.

"You don't, really."

Cedric's mouth moved wordlessly for a few moments before his voice worked its way out, sounding somewhere between hurt and angry.

"Everything I did, all these years, everything -"

"Yes, everything _you_ did, Cedric. Without consulting me, without -"

"I burned the damn journal just like you asked! I thought - you said - moving on!"

Sofia opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself, favoring a calming breath instead.

"I love you, Cedric. But what I'm doing isn't up for debate." She stood from the bench and looked down at him. "I'm leaving in the morning, I'm not sure for how long. I hope we can find each other when I return. If not...I'll understand." She rested her hands lightly on his shoulders so she could lean down and kiss him softly on the cheek. She avoided his eyes as she pulled back and walked away.

Before she could leave the garden, Sofia heard a swirl of cloak and robes as Cedric stood, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back to him. His lips collided with hers. It was a fierce kiss, powered by frustration and loss and love. Sofia fought through his strong grip to wrap her arms around his neck and cling tightly to him as he pulled her even closer. When it ended, it left Sofia out of breath, Eyes glassy, she looked up to Cedric. There was a fire behind his gaze. Sofia couldn't tell if it was passion or anger or, more likely, some mix of the two. He kissed her once more, this one tender and nearly forgettable, before releasing her and hurrying down the path. Twenty paces later, he was encircled by acid-green smoke and Cedric vanished into thin air.

Sofia brought her hand to rest on her heart, willing it to slow as she battled her eyes not to shed tears. She refused to cry. This was the right choice for her, even if it wasn't the right choice for Cedric. She loved him. She desperately, almost pathetically, loved him. But she needed the chance to learn to love herself again. That was something Cedric was going to have to understand if he would ever love more than just the idea of her.

Sofia pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders and left the garden memorial. She paused in the same spot Cedric had teleported away from and could feel the hum of his magic while it was slowly fading away. Her hand subconsciously fell to her stomach and lingered there a moment. The touch of his magic, the same hum, was resonating deep within her. It was a quiet reminder of the curse he cast and the spell that healed her.

A quiet reminder of new beginnings.

.

* * *

.

 **A/N: And there's the end!**

 **IS SHE OR ISN'T SHE?! You decide ;)  
I'm still waffling on a epilogue, but I'm putting a satisfying little "c" on the story for now.  
I had a hell of a time with this chapter - five different false starts before I could get to the ending I wanted. Thank you for sticking with me. I feel pretty strongly about Sofia's choice in the end and I hope you do, too - let me know!**

 **Thank you for all of the views and reviews. Hearing from you makes writing these stories even more satisfying. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives not only to read my work, but to respond to it as well. Y'all are awesome.**


	15. Chapter 15: Epilogues

**A/N: I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I decided to write two, yes TWO, epilogues - posted here consecutively. The first, as I see it, shows things as they progress in a healthy, happy way for everyone involved. It's what** _ **should**_ **happen. The second is less so, though it ended up being happier than I anticipated. It's the idea that was playing in my head on repeat, though I hope it's not how things ended up.  
Please do read them both and let me know what you think!**

.

* * *

.

Epilogue A

The moat surrounding the castle was really more of a lake. It was a natural formation. The founders of Enchancia chose the patch of land in the center of said lake to build their foundation upon until the structure reached the grandeur of today. It was stocked with fish that didn't bother Cedric when he went for a swim each morning.

Routine had become his religion. Wake up, swim, eat, return correspondences, meet the obligations of his position, eat, walk, and read until fatigue forced him to sleep. Repeat over and over and over again. It gave him something to depend on. Exercise and regular eating, the food appearing on a predictable schedule no doubt due to orders sent via letter, had done wonders for his physical body. He was healthier than it had ever been. It was his spirit that still felt incomplete.

The letters helped.

Sofia wrote him almost weekly and he always replied immediately. She had been everywhere, it seemed. She sent back occasional gifts; rare potion ingredients, silk cravats, quills made from unusual bird feathers, even a signet ring with a raven design. She was making connections that were valuable for her brother all while having adventure after adventure across the world. She translated her escapdes onto pages with engaging skill, but Cedric couldn't help but wonder what stories she was leaving off the page. What men had she met who could have captivated her heart? Who was she traveling with? Why was she still away?

It was early in the morning. The sun had barely risen and Cedric was in the water, his mind torturing him with thoughts of Sofia's unwritten extracurricular activities. His laps finished as the sun brought the sky to a strikingly clear blue. He swam to the shore and rose out of the water, walking towards the neat pile of his clothes to find his wand and dry off. He had brought down blank parchment with him this morning as well. A letter had arrived from Sofia last night and he planned to write a response with his back up against a tree on the shoreline. That plan, however, was immediately disrupted by the woman sitting beside his neat pile of clothes and parchment. Cedric was suddenly acutely aware of the way his wet small clothes clung suggestively to his skin as Sofia turned her head to face him, smiling like cat with a full stomach who had just caught another mouse.

"Good morning." She was all confidence and collection with a dazzling smile and a cheerful disposition that seemed to be outshining the morning sun.

"You didn't say, in your letter - it only came last night, but you didn't say you were coming home." Cedric barely got the broken sentence out of his mouth. Sofia's sudden appearance had shocked away his ability to be coherent.

"I didn't know I was going to be." She lifted his wand in her own hand and waved it at him. A wind rose from nowhere and every water droplet on his skin, clothes, and hair was blown gently back into the lake.

Cedric raised an appreciative eyebrow. "You found a teacher."

"Only in Avalor. Otherwise, I just did a lot of the reading I had put off for eight or nine years."

Cedric walked over stand beside her and reach down to pick up his clothes. Sofia got to her feet and stood between him and the pile before he could bend down.

"I can't get dressed?"

"I rather like you this way," she teased as she walked the fingers of one hand up his bare chest. Cedric grabbed her wrist gently, stilling her movement.

"Sofia. Are you - are you back?" He could feel her pulse from his grip around her wrist and it was oddly comforting, like the thrum was proof that she was real and not just a figment of his imagination. "Because I can't - if you're not, I can't…"

Sofia's other hand found its way to his hair, running her fingertips across the nape of his neck. It quieted him. Her face had sobered as she looked up into his eyes.

"I'm back," she confirmed. "As long as you'll have me, Cedric, I'm not going an-"

He gathered her up in his arms and kissed her soundly. If he hadn't been dreaming of this moment for nearly three years, he would have had her there on the shore. She giggled then, the sound sending vibrations against his lips. He smiled and pulled back from her just enough for their lips to part as he pressed his forehead against hers.

"You should get dressed so we can get back to the castle," Sofia said through a soft little sigh.

"Why?"

"I haven't let anyone know I'm here. I knew you'd be swimming from your letters, so I came down here. I wanted to see you first."

"They can know you're here once you've been thoroughly tousled," Cedric said through a growl.

"Cedric!" The blush on her cheeks and the tone of her voice spoke to Sofia being embarrassed by the idea. The spark in her eye, however, told a lustier story.

"Nearly three years you've kept me waiting, woman."

"You waited?" She seemed touched at the thought.

"You didn't?"

"I -"

"Don't answer," Cedric interrupted quickly. "I don't care and I don't want to know. You're here now, yes?"

Sofia nodded.

"And that means what I think it means?"

"What do you think it means?"

Cedric nuzzled against her neck, slowing kissing and nipping down the pale expanse of skin as he spoke. "That you are only mine to have, now. Mine to marry and fill with babies and love until you're exhausted and have to sleep and start again with more love the next day."

Sofia rose to her tip toes, arching her back slightly as she managed a faint, affirmative "uh huh" in response. Cedric's lips wandered back up to hers and he kissed her softly before pulling away far enough to speak.

"Good. Then the kingdom can wait a few hours. Let's get you upstairs."

.

* * *

.

Epilogue B

"You're a difficult woman to track, you know."

"Cedric," Sofia said in an exhale through the gap in the door. "You're - how did you - um -"

"Aren't you going to invite me in? It's rather cold out here."

"O-of course. Please, come inside." She held the door open wide enough for Cedric to step in without releasing too much heat from inside out into the cold winter air. Cedric knocked his boots against each other a few times by the door to shake off some of the snow before taking off his heavy cloak. Sofia took it wordlessly, hanging it on a peg beside the door next to several other cloaks. Cedric knew she had a few members of a household staff, it was one of the leads he had followed to find her. Sofia had always been delightfully self sufficient, but the manor house was large for her to attend to all by herself.

"We can sit in the parlor. There's already a fire going. You must be freezing." Sofia couldn't seem to look him in the eye, staring closer to his nose when she spoke to him before taking several steps away from the entrance towards another room that seemed to be radiating heat. She stopped at the open door to what must be the parlor and gestured for Cedric to step inside ahead of her.

It was a tidy room with two armchairs sitting closest to the fire and a couch to seat three further back from the flames. A large map took up one wall with circles around various cities in red ink, one or two with check marks beside them. Sofia took the armchair on the left of the fireplace and daintily crossed her ankles and gestured to Cedric to sit in the armchair on the right. She stilled her fidgeting hands in her lap and waited for Cedric to get settled before speaking.

"How did you find me?" She looked nervous, though not entirely uneasy.

"With time and patience. You need not blame any one person. It was quite a bit of information I put together over the past two years or so. Clues from the last letter you sent, where James was spending unmarked time, allocations of funds - that sort of thing."

"So you did get my letters."

"I - yes. I did." He felt contrite as he said it.

"You never responded. Why?" Sofia was calm, but her question was pressing.

"You made it very clear before you left that you wanted to be on your own. I didn't want to hold you back in any way."

"So you ignored me?"

Cedric let go of a frustrated sigh. "I"m not a brave man, Sofia. I didn't want to risk losing you a third time."

"Then why are you here, now?"

He knew this answer, at least. "Because the risk of heartbreak paled in comparison to the anguish of you being absent from my life again."

Sofia looked at him with a mix of emotions across her face. Cedric could see something akin to pity and guilt and remorse.

"Merlin," he muttered to himself before speaking up again. "There's someone else, isn't there? Whose chair am I sitting in?" Suddenly feeling violated by the fabric, Cedric stood.

"I tried to tell you," Sofia said, her eyes focused on her own lap. "I -"

"This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come." Cedric started away from the embrace of the heat from the fire and closer to the cold door.

Sofia's head shot up and she spoke with a firm authority he hadn't ever heard from her before.

"Cedric, sit down. Now."

Not certain what else he could do, he followed orders and returned to the chair, though it still felt damning to sit in.

"You have a son. That's his chair. He is fifteen months old and upstairs taking his nap, so I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down."

"I - what? I have a what? You didn't - why didn't you -" He couldn't get the words from his mind to process coherently out of his mouth.

"What did my last letter say, Cedric?" Sofia was calm, patient, and firm.

"Huh?"

"In my last letter I said that I wanted to see you. That I wanted to tell you something in person. I take it you were certain that I was going to leave you permanently?"

"I - uhm - yes, I-I did, I was," he said through his hands as he washed them over his face. "Son? I have a son?" His shock was still very much present, but it was starting to mix with wonderment, too.

The corners of Sofia's lips curled up just the slightest bit. "You do."

Fear reached up and seized Cedric's heart, squeezing tightly. "Is it too late? Am I too late?"

Sofia reached her hand across the way and Cedric took it, desperate for the life line she was offering.

"You certainly are late. But not too late, I think."

.

* * *

.

 **A/N #2: So I did want to point out one thing with epilogue #2. Shock is playing a HUGE part in Cedric's reactions, here. If I kept on writing, you would have seen that, buuuut at some point you have to remove yourself from the story and let it go. Honestly, I was picturing my husband as a blueprint. If the news of his child came to him in this kind of scenario, his first reaction would be regarding the child and his future with that child. The frustration/anger with me would have followed, not in front of said child, and it would be pretty intense. But I put down the pen before I got there (and I only regret it a teensy tiny bit, hence this post script).**


End file.
